Battlefield 4 patch improves performance, introduces Mantle support

The previous teased Battlefield 4 performance patch is now a reality, one that should have already been stitched onto the game. At this point, that game is liberally covered in bandages, sutures and comically large plasters; so is one more going to make a difference? Supposedly yes, with significant work done to improve framerates and stuttering, and reduce the duration of black screen while spawning. It also introduces support for AMD's Mantle renderer. At least for those lucky few with a compatible graphics card.

To use Mantle, you'll need a GPU with AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture. For more information on set up, you can see DICE's own Mantle article . There you'll also find DICE's internal tests, which suggest a 14-58% performance increase, depending on your set-up.

See the full patch notes below:

Jan 30 PC Game Update Notes

Mantle Support

The new Mantle renderer has been added in Battlefield 4. Most players can expect a performance increase by using this new low-level graphics API. Check out this news post [battlelog.battlefield.com] for the full details on Mantle, what the requirements are to run it, and how to enable it.

CPU/GPU performance and monitoring

-Tweaked and improved CPU multi-core utilization to try and avoid stuttering and low framerate due to stalls that happened on some CPU and OS configurations.

-Users can now configure and control themselves how many CPU cores should be used in the game with the new “Thread.MaxProcessorCount” settings in User.cfg.

-“Render.DrawScreenInfo 1” now also shows information about which CPU and GPU is in the system, how many GPUs & CPU cores are used and which renderer (DirectX 11 or Mantle) is active

-Added new “PerfOverlay.FrameFileLogEnable” command that records frame times on CPU & GPU and logs out to a .csv file

-Improved performance with rendering and spotlights for all GPUs, primarily in in-door environments

DMR Balance Tweaks

-Increased the damage of all DMRs across all ranges. Specifically, damage has been increased at long ranges to allow three-hit kills against unarmored opponents. Additionally, reduced the penalty to accuracy for sustained DMR fire, allowing more rapid follow up shots in combat. The amount of the damage increase varies from weapon to weapon, according to its intended range, rate of fire, and damage. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of DMRs in combat, and determine if additional action is needed to make DMRs a viable mid to long range weapon.

Other Items

-Significantly reduced the duration of the black screen when spawning in, and fixed the issue with players getting killed before being in-game

-Greatly reduced the risk of crosshairs disappearing, which would also result in hit markers disappearing

-Added a headshot icon on the killcard. This should help identify instances where players are correctly killed by one shot

-Fixed an issue in Squad Deathmatch where the “Win/Lose” text was overlapping

-Fixed an issue with players using an exploit for the SOFLAM

-Fixed an issue with players using an exploit for the MAV

-Fixed the gameplay code to properly track the FOV (Field of View) changes in the options menu

-Fixed an issue where chat would break when entering "false" or "true" in the chat window

-Fixed an out-of-helicopter glitch in Air Superiority where players could spawn on the ground and play as infantry

Phil leads PC Gamer's UK team. He was previously the editor of the magazine, and thinks you should definitely subscribe to it. He enjoys RPGs and immersive sims, and can often be found reviewing Hitman games. He's largely responsible for the Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.